第5章

“Donotthankme。Indeedifyouarewiseyouwillrefuse。YouhavemetPambasa。Well，NehesiisPambasamultipliedbyten，arogue，athief，abully，andonewhohasPharaoh’sear。Hewillmakeyourlifeatormenttoyouandclipeveryringofgoldthatatlengthyouwringoutofhisgrip。Moreovertheplaceiswearisome，andIamfancifulandoftenill-humoured。Donotthankme，Isay。Refuse；returntoMemphisandwritestories。Shuncourtsandtheirplottings。Pharaohhimselfisbutafaceandapuppetthroughwhichothervoicestalkandothereyesshine，andthesceptrewhichhewieldsispulledbystrings。AndifthisissowithPharaoh，whatisthecasewithhisson？Thentherearethewomen，Ana。Theywillmakelovetoyou，Ana，theyevendosotome，andIthinkyoutoldmethatyouknowsomethingofwomen。Donotaccept，gobacktoMemphis。IwillsendyousomeoldmanuscriptstocopyandpayyouwhateveritisNehesiallowsforthelibrarian。“ “YetIaccept，OPrince。AsforNehesiIfearhimnotatall，sinceattheworstIcanwriteastoryabouthimatwhichtheworldwilllaugh，andratherthanthathewillpaymemysalary。“ “YouhavemorewisdomthanIthought，Ana。ItnevercameintomymindtoputNehesiinastory，thoughitistrueItelltalesabouthimwhichismuchthesamething。“ Hebendforward，leaninghisheaduponhishand，andceasingfromhisbanteringtone，lookedmeintheeyesandasked： “Whydoyouaccept？Letmethinknow。Itisnotbecauseyoucareforwealthifthatistobewonhere；norforthepompandshowofcourts； norforthecompanyofthegreatwhoreallyaresosmall。Forallthesethingsyou，Ana，havenocravingifIreadyourheartaright，youwhoareanartist，nothinglessandnothingmore。Tellme，then，whywillyou，afreemanwhocanearnyourliving，lingerroundathroneandsetyourneckbeneaththeheelofprincestobecrushedintothecommonmouldofservitorsandKing’sCompanionsandBearersoftheFootstool？“ “Iwilltellyou，Prince。First，becausethronesmakehistory，ashistorymakesthrones，andIthinkthatgreateventsareonfootinEgyptinwhichIwouldhavemyshare。Secondly，becausethegodsbringgiftstomenonlyonceortwiceintheirlivesandtorefusethemistooffendthegodswhogavethemthoselivestousetoendsofwhichweknownothing。Andthirdly“——hereIhesitated。 “Andthirdly——outwiththethirdlyfor，doubtless，itistherealreason。“ “Andthirdly，OPrince——well，thewordsoundsstrangelyuponaman’slips——butthirdlybecauseIloveyou。FromthemomentthatmyeyesfelluponyourfaceIlovedyouasIneverlovedanyotherman——notevenmyfather。Iknownotwhy。Certainlyitisnotbecauseyouareaprince。“ WhenheheardthesewordsSetisatbroodingandsosilentthat，fearinglestI，ahumblescribe，hadbeentoobold，Iaddedhastily： “LetyourHighnesspardonhisservantforhispresumptuouswords。Itwashisservant’sheartthatspokeandnothislips。“ HeliftedhishandandIstopped。 “Ana，mytwininRa，“hesaid，“doyouknowthatIneverhadafriend？“ “Aprincewhohasnofriend!“ “Never，none。NowIbegintothinkthatIhavefoundone。Thethoughtisstrangeandwarmsme。DoyouknowalsothatwhenmyeyesfelluponyourfaceIlovedyoualso，thegodsknowwhy。ItwasasthoughIhadfoundonewhowasdeartomethousandsofyearsagobutwhomIhadlostandforgotten。Perhapsthisisbutfoolishness，orperhapsherewehavetheshadowofsomethinggreatandbeautifulwhichdwellselsewhere，intheplacewecalltheKingdomofOsiris，beyondthegrave，Ana。“ “Suchthoughtshavecometomeattimes，Prince。Imeanthatallweseeisshadow；thatweourselvesareshadowsandthattherealitieswhocastthemliveinadifferenthomewhichislitbysomespiritsunthatneversets。“ ThePrincenoddedhisheadandagainwassilentforawhile。Thenhetookhisbeautifulalabastercup，andpouringwineintoit，hedrankalittleandpassedthecuptome。 “Drinkalso，Ana，“hesaid，“andpledgemeasIpledgeyou，intokenthatbydecreeoftheCreatorwhomadetheheartsofmen，henceforwardourtwoheartsareasthesameheartthroughgoodandill，throughtriumphanddefeat，tilldeathtakesoneofus。Henceforward，Ana，unlessyoushowyourselfunworthy，Ihidenothoughtfromyou。“ FlushingwithjoyItookthecup，saying： “Iaddtoyourwords，OPrince。Weareone，notforthislifealonebutforallthelivestobe。Death，OPrince，is，Ithink，butasinglestepinthepylonstairwhichleadsatlasttothatdizzyheightwhenceweseethefaceofGodandhearhisvoicetelluswhatandwhyweare。“ ThenIpledgedhim，anddrank，bowing，andhebowedbacktome。 “Whatshallwedowiththecup，Ana，thesacredcupthathasheldthisrichheart-wine？ShallIkeepit？No，itnolongerbelongstome。 ShallIgiveittoyou？No，itcanneverbeyoursalone。See，wewillbreakthepricelessthing。“ Seizingitbyitsstemwithallhisstrengthhestruckthecupuponthetable。Thenwhatseemedtobetomeamarvelhappened，forinsteadofshatteringasIthoughtitsurelywould，itsplitintwofromrimtofoot。Whetherthiswasbychance，orwhethertheartistwhofashioneditinsomebygonegenerationhadworkedthetwohalvesseparatelyandcunninglycementedthemtogether，tothishourIdonotknow。Atleastsoitbefell。 “Thisisfortunate，Ana，“saidthePrince，laughingalittleinhislightway。“NowtakeyouthehalfthatliesnearesttoyouandIwilltakemine。IfyoudiefirstIwilllaymyhalfuponyourbreast，andifIdiefirstyoushalldothesamebyme，orifthepriestsforbiditbecauseIamroyalandmaynotbeprofaned，castthethingintomytomb。Whatshouldwehavedonehadthealabastershatteredintofragments，Ana，andwhatomenshouldwehavereadinthem？“ “Whyask，OPrince，seeingthatithasbefallenotherwise？“ ThenItookmyhalf，laiditagainstmyforeheadandhiditinthebosomofmyrobe，andasIdid，sodidSeti。 SointhisstrangefashiontheroyalSetiandIsealedtheholycompactofourbrotherhood，asIthinknotforthefirsttimeorthelast。 Setirose，stretchingouthisarms。 “Thatisfinished，“hesaid，“aseverythingfinishes，andforonceI amsorry。Nowwhatnext？Sleep，Isuppose，inwhichallends，orperhapsyouwouldsayallbegins。“ Ashespokethecurtainsattheendoftheroomweredrawnandbetweenthemappearedthechamberlain，Pambasa，holdinghisgold-tippedwandceremoniouslybeforehim。 “Whatisitnow，man？“askedSeti。“CanInotevensupinpeace？Stay，beforeyouanswertellme，dothingsendorbegininsleep？ThelearnedAnaandIdifferonthematterandwouldhearyourwisdom。 Bearinmind，Pambasa，thatbeforewearebornwemusthaveslept，sinceofthattimeweremembernothing，andafterwearedeadwecertainlyseemtosleep，asanywhohavelookedonmummiesknow。Nowanswer。“ Thechamberlainstaredatthewineflaskonthetableasthoughhesuspectedhismasterofhavingdrunktoomuch。Theninahardofficialvoicehesaid： “Shecomes!Shecomes!Shecomes，offeringgreetingsandadorationtotheRoyalSonofRa。“ “Doessheindeed？“askedSeti。“Ifso，whysayitthreetimes？Andwhocomes？“ “ThehighPrincess，theheiressofEgypt，thedaughterofPharaoh，yourHighness’sroyalhalf-sister，thegreatladyUserti。“ “Letherenterthen。Ana，standyoubehindme。IfyougrowwearyandI giveleaveyoucandepart；theslaveswillshowyouyoursleeping- place。“ Pambasawent，andpresentlythroughthecurtainappearedaroyal- lookingladysplendidlyapparelled。Shewasaccompaniedbyfourwaitingwomenwhofellbackonthethresholdandwerenomoreseen。 ThePrincesteppedforward，tookbothherhandsinhisandkissedheronthebrow，thendrewbackagain，afterwhichtheystoodamomentlookingateachother。WhiletheyremainedthusIstudiedherwhowasknownthroughoutthelandasthe“BeautifulRoyalDaughter，“butwhomtillnowIhadneverseen。IntruthIdidnotthinkherbeautiful，althoughevenhadshebeencladinapeasant’srobeIshouldhavebeensurethatshewasroyal。Herfacewastoohardforbeautyandherblackeyes，withatingeofgreyinthem，weretoosmall。Alsohernosewastoosharpandherlipsweretoothin。Indeed，haditnotbeenforthedelicatelyandfinely-shapedwoman’sformbeneath，Imighthavethoughtthataprinceandnotaprincessstoodbeforeme。Fortherestinmostwayssheresembledherhalf-brotherSeti，thoughhercountenancelackedthekindlinessofhis；orratherbothofthemresembledtheirfather，Meneptah。 “Greeting，Sister，“hesaid，eyeingherwithasmileinwhichIcaughtagleamofmockery。“Purple-borderedrobes，emeraldnecklaceandenamelledcrownofgold，ringsandpectoral，everythingexceptasceptre——whyareyousoroyallyarrayedtovisitonesohumbleasyourlovingbrother？Youcomelikesunlightintothedarknessofthehermit’scellanddazzlethepoorhermit，orratherhermits，“andhepointedtome。 “Ceaseyourjests，Seti，“sherepliedinafull，strongvoice。“Iweartheseornamentsbecausetheypleaseme。AlsoIhavesuppedwithourfather，andthosewhositatPharaoh’stablemustbesuitablyarrayed，thoughIhavenotedthatsometimesyouthinkotherwise。“